I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bed liners of the kind commonly used for the beds of pickup trucks and, more particularly, to a bed liner having a center wall portion angled to provide rigidity to the bed liner.
II. Description of the Prior Art
In order to prevent the bed portion of the pickup truck from being marred or otherwise damaged by cargo, bed liners have been used to protect the walls and floor of the truck bed from damage. Truck bed liners are typically formed as a partial box having a front wall and a pair of side walls extending from a floor. The truck bed liners are typically molded in one piece of a synthetic material.
In order to minimize expense and weight of the truck bed liner, various techniques have been devised in order to provide sufficient rigidity and strength in the truck bed liner while minimizing the amount of material used to form the liner or detracting from the useable space. It is known, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,047,749, to provide the side and front walls with vertically extending ribs to provide rigidity and compensate for the tendency of polyethylene to become wavy when exposed to sunlight.
It is also known to form longitudinal ribs in the floors of the liners, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,181,349 to Nix et al, to strengthen the floor. However, previous rib alignments have not provided for proper drainage of all of the interior of the truck bed liner.
As shown in Reissue Patent No. 32,198, it is known to provide the front and side walls of a truck bed liner with horizontally extending stepped panels in order to provide rigidity. The cargo impact areas are further strengthened by forming a step down portion extending to a corner bend portion. The bend portion is shielded from contact with cargo by longitudinal ribs which extend toward the bend portion. However, the ribs end before the bend portion so that this cargo does not come in contact with the bend portion.
Thus, it is desirable to provide a truck bed liner which is easily molded from a minimum amount of material, but having substantial strength and rigidity.
Additionally, it is desirable to provide a cargo carrying area sufficiently large to carry 4'.times.8' sheet material, such as sheets of drywall and plywood, in horizontal alignment on the floor of the liner. Finally, it is desirable to form a liner which provides proper drainage from all areas of the liner.